Ski Binding Platform With Viscoelastic Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ski binding platforms fail to adequately dampen vibrations and compensate for bending deformations during skiing, leading to poor manageability and increased wear, as they either restrict bending or fail to effectively distribute pressure across the active edge.
Innovation Solution
A platform with a front and rear bearing plate system, featuring pivot levers and connecting members that allow for eccentric attachment to the ski or snowboard, utilizing springs to adjust tension and facilitate unhindered bending while damping vibrations through a combination of pivotable and rotatable connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid layer is used in the platform to provide structural support and standing height, then the platform can maintain its shape and provide stable mounting for ski binding parts, but the bending of the ski is significantly restricted and the course of the bending line changes, resulting in uneven force transmission and reduced manageability during turns
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is divided into multiple functional layers: a rigid upper layer for structural support and binding mounting, and a viscoelastic lower layer for vibration damping and flexible connection to the ski. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function without interfering with the overall bending capability of the ski.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform uses a composite structure combining rigid material (for strength and stability) with viscoelastic material (for damping and flexibility). This composite design resolves the contradiction by allowing the rigid portion to provide support while the viscoelastic portion accommodates bending movements and dampens vibrations.
2Weight of moving object
If the platform is made lightweight to reduce overall ski weight, then energy efficiency and fatigue are improved, but mechanical stresses on the platform increase, leading to local material defects and cracks over time
Solution Approach 1:
The use of viscoelastic material in the lower layer provides both weight reduction and enhanced durability. This material absorbs mechanical stresses and vibrations, preventing stress concentration that would lead to cracks in lightweight structures, thus maintaining reliability while keeping weight low.
Solution Approach 2:
The viscoelastic layer converts harmful vibrations and mechanical stresses into beneficial damping effects. Instead of allowing these forces to cause material fatigue and cracks, the viscoelastic material absorbs and dissipates them, actually improving the platform's longevity despite its lightweight construction.
3Reliability
If spring-loaded elements in ski bindings are used to compensate for bending deformations, then the connection should maintain contact under varying conditions, but during rapid deformations in extreme bending pressure the elements cannot keep up with changes, resulting in disconnection between ski boot and binding
Solution Approach 1:
The platform's viscoelastic layer changes its mechanical parameters dynamically in response to bending forces. Under rapid deformation, the material's damping characteristics automatically adjust to accommodate the speed of change, providing continuous support without requiring fast-acting spring mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances guiding performance and impulsiveness by allowing unobstructed bending while effectively damping vibrations, reducing the risk of disconnection between the ski boot and binding, and minimizing wear by distributing pressure evenly across the active edge.
Implementation Method 1
The latter can also be very small, which is convenient for racing skis which have to comply with the regulations. At the same time such a platform facilitates the damping of some vibrations, those which are transferred from the ski to the skier's leg thereby applying pressure on the skier.
Implementation Method 2
a platform, which consists of rigid and viscoelastic layers placed one above the other, with the viscoelastic layer being the bottom one
Implementation Method 3
said front and rear bearing plate are moreover pushed apart from each other by means of at least one spring, which is embedded within corresponding guides on the front and rear bearing plate
Data Source
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Figure 8~9
AI summary
When attached to a top surface of a ski, a platform enables to achieve each desired standing height, which can optionally also be relatively small, and moreover also allows unhindered bending of a ski or snowboard by simultaneously dampening of vibrations. In such manner such platform improves guiding and reactivity performances of a ski or snowboard by turning, and is moreover capable to withstand to long-term dynamic mechanical stresses. Said platform consists of a front bearing plate (1) and a rear bearing plate (2), which are arranged in mutual alignment at certain distance apart from each other, and are moreover pushed apart from each other by means of at least one spring (17, 17'), which is embedded within corresponding guides (18, 28; 180, 28') on the front and rear bearing plate (1, 2).